Oculus
by auroraziazan
Summary: Characters see things they weren't expecting in each others' eyes.


Eye of the Storm

  
  


"Mr. Potter," the note read. "Your presence is required in the Potions classroom at nine o'clock this evening. You will be serving your detention under the direction of Professor Severus Snape."

"Crap." Harry groaned as he read the note. They had examinations in numerology in Divination today, and Professor Flitwick had hinted that they would need to have mastered basic conjuring for today's lesson. Fred and George had gotten to team to agree to skip dinner tonight, and had scheduled the field from half an hour after last class until a quarter 'til nine to finish working on their strategy for the game tomorrow. It was their first game as captains, and Ginny's first as keeper. Plus, he had already gotten himself into something for the night.

"What's wrong, mate?" Ron asked, grabbing a muffin.

"Detention tonight, with Snape. And Quidditch practice, and a test in Charms, that Hermione was going to help me study for last night."

"Ouch. That's tough. And of course, you were supposed to be picking up her work for her, but I can manage that."

"Thanks. Do you remember how long Madam Pomfrey said it would take until she's back to normal?"

"I'm not sure. She looked an awful mess, though, half covered in burns and bandages."

"Had it been anyone but Neville, of course, we would have hexed them a mile away. What can you do, though? It's not really his fault," Harry sighed.

"Draco, on the other hand, has a face that is just dying to be punched in."

"Don't do it, Ron. The satisfaction isn't quite worth the points, especially since he'd manage to weasel it all onto you, twice as much as whatever you did to him."

Ron grumbled and rolled his eyes. They both finished their breakfasts and grabbed their bags before heading off to Divination.

They arrived twenty minutes late. The staircases kept switching around, and one that usually took them most of the way to the tower ended up leaving them somewhere in a maze of dungeon tunnels. When they finally got to the right floor, the corridors started moving, and they walked the same hall four times before it finally let them out. "It is good of you to show up, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley. We were going to send someone after you."

"I'm sorry we're late, Professor. The castle wasn't letting us up," Harry replied automatically, before noticing that it wasn't Trelawney. He kept the surprise off his face.

"I see. Just begin your work. You are completing a full numerology chart for your partner, and you will need it finished by the end of class."

Mind numbed, Harry spent two hours trying to remember the numbers and combinations they had learned, and attempting to recreate some sort of reasonable answers. He finished late, and only had time to drink a glass of juice and grab a roll at lunch before dashing off to Charms. 

"Good afternoon, class," Flitwick welcomed them. "I hope you are all ready. We are going to have a small conjuring examination today. I will be calling you out one at a time. The rest of you can practice in here. Once you have passed you are free to leave."

Harry pulled his book out and began reading and rereading the chapter on conjuring frantically, hoping to absorb something of it, though his eyes weren't focusing on the words very well. He hadn't gotten anything out of it when Parvati came and tapped him on the shoulder, indicating that it was his turn to go.

He was a mess when he got into the Flitwick's office. As soon as he got his wand out of his pocket, it began shooting a steady stream of blue sparks. "Mr. Potter?" Flitwick asked. "Are you quite all right?"

"Yes, Professor, I'm fine," he responded, pinching the tip of his wand. His hand twitched as a last few sparks came out the end.

"Your task is to conjure a stick, into that fireplace there, and light it on fire."

Harry acknowledged this with a nod and closed his eyes. 'Think. Think. What did they say about conjuring? Step 1, Get a clear picture of what it is you want. Okay, stick. Stick. Right. Stick. Okay, Step 2. Step 2. What the bloody hell is Step 2?" He searched his memory for what Mrs. Weasley had done cooking. His legs were shaking under him, and he started mouthing something.

"Would you like to sit down, Mr. Potter? Take the pressure off."

Harry fell into the offered seat nervously, and his legs began bouncing up and down harder. He opened his eyes to tell Professor Flitwick he couldn't do it when he realized that it had already happened. The small stick was burning cheerily, and Flitwick was looking at him patiently. "Very good, Mr. Potter. Nothing to be worried about, really."

Harry left the office in a daze and crashed into the wall after about six steps. "Ow! Stupid wall." He wiped his hands over his face trying to clear his thoughts.

With Ron's help, he got down to the Quidditch pitch for practice. It was grueling, and Fred and George pushed them all for hours. The sky was full of clouds that hung low, making the air cold and misty. He was getting blisters from holding his broomstick when they finally finished. He got out of his old robes and was about to take a shower and realized that his detention started in five minutes. He pulled the mist and sweat-soaked robes back on and ran all the way to the dungeon with his broom still in his hand.

"You're late Potter. Ten points from Gryffindor. And why did you bring that idiotic broomstick with you? Was it getting lonely?"

"I'm sorry, Professor, practice ran late."

"I didn't ask for excuses, Potter. Set down your things and get ready to work. You'll be recreating the potion from Wednesday's lesson."

"What about my partner? It's a difficult potion, and we didn't even manage to get the timing right with two of us."

"You think I want Longbottom in here any longer that absolutely necessary? I'm almost ready to ban him from attending class."

"This time wasn't our fault, really. It was navy blue, like you said it was supposed to be, and then-"

"I don't want your excuses. When the incident happened, I stated very clearly that the potion was going to change colors, and you needed to stop it while it was green. It is wasted if it is allowed to cook until it turns navy blue. Or, as you and Mr. Longbottom so excellently demonstrated, it becomes highly explosive."

"But sir, that wasn't our fault. Malfoy-"

"For the last time, Mr. Potter, I did not ask about Mr. Malfoy! It was your potion which exploded, your potion which harmed several students, and it is your job to redo the potion properly."

"Yes, sir." Harry was silent as he got out his book and went to the student cupboards to retrieve the necessary ingredients.

Harry working steadily, preparing what ingredients he could before he started mixing. It went incredibly fast once he poured the first ingredients in a cauldron and he barely made a few of the timings. He had it all the way to dark green before either of them spoke.

Snape swooped over from his desk. "Be careful, Potter, we wouldn't want a repeat of last time."

Harry jumped, his intense concentration broken. "Yes, sir. I am sorry about that. I think an extra ingredient may have been added to it accidentally, after it turned blue." He tried to check over the next step quickly but his hands were shaking and Snape's presence over his shoulder was distracting him.

"It needs to come off the fire now, Potter. The heat of the cauldron will be enough for the last two steps."

Harry nodded acknowledgement, unsure of his voice. Snape returned silently to his desk. Harry lifted the heavy cauldron to put it on the small stand off the fire.

"Be careful not to get any on your skin; it's mildly corrosive. And try not to inhale the vapors. That's not very healthy when it's at this stage."

Harry rolled his eyes. 'Couldn't have told me before the fact, of course.' He quickly wiped the spilled potion off his hands, and powdered the fantasmagoria leaves. 

"Not too quickly, Potter. It won't dissolve in large clumps, and the mixture doesn't react well to stirring at this point."

Harry gritted his teeth in response and dropped the powder in by minuscule pinches. He added the last five salamander scales and watched as a blue puff of smoke was released from the top.

"Good, Potter. You may have managed this properly. Siphon out enough for a small vial, just to be sure." Harry did, and left the vial open.

"Now close your eyes. I have to administer this, and the effects are rather inconsistent."

Harry looked warily and the black figure looming over his shoulder before closing his eyes. Snape picked up the vial and carefully took three drops himself, confirming it's relative safety. He opened Harry's mouth with two fingers and poured the rest of the potion into down his throat.

Harry immediately closed his mouth. He started twitching wildly. He went through a series of painful looking contortions, and released a small scream. When he finally settled down, Severus pulled his glasses off.

"Open your eyes, Potter, I need to make sure they're all right!"

Harry slowly tried to blink them open. "It hurts, sir. Everything's too bright and sharp, and it is hurting."

Snape took Harry's unturned face in his hands and slowly used his thumbs to hold one of Harry's eyes open. They were a brilliant emerald, clearer than they'd ever been. Just like Lily's, but even more magnificent. He kept wincing, and trying to blink. "I'm not really sure what you were expecting, sir, but my eyes hurt. The edges are all sharp and it all seems a lot brighter than it should. Can I have my glasses back?"

Severus didn't respond, but moved to Harry's other eye. It responded similarly. "Open your eyes, boy. Tell me what you see."

"The potion has gotten a lot brighter. The edges of everything seem a lot sharper than they should. And I'm not sure, but I don't think you're glaring at me."

Snape let out a short chuckle, and released Harry's head. "No, I'm not. I could if you'd prefer, but it would seem pointless when you can't even tell."

"What did it do to me?"

"I believe, Mr. Potter, that it corrected your vision. It should only take a few minutes for you to get used to it, at least to the point that it doesn't cause physical pain. The potion only lasts for an hour, though. I suggest you make the most of it."

"You mean I don't have to clean up?"

"Just this once, and if anyone hears about it your next few detentions will not end so well, I daresay."

Harry was so excited he could have kissed Snape. He didn't of course, but grabbed his broom and ran down the corridors and back up to the ground level. He was heading up the main staircase when he saw a flash of lightning out the main doors. 'Oh no, Malfoy!'

He ran back down the stairs and out the open door. He could barely see the reflection of light off a blond head. It was raining heavily, and lightning flashes were coming all around. Malfoy was already waiting for him on the Quidditch pitch when he got there, though his back was toward Harry.

"Potter, good of you to show up to your own challenge. I almost thought . . . but that doesn't matter, now, does it? I brought the swords, just like you said." He turned around with a flourish, brandishing one sword, and used it to launch the other at Harry, who caught it gracefully.

"I'm in shock. The great Potter actually knows which end of a sword to hold," Malfoy taunted.

Without any of the proper warnings or salutations, they began. It was a great place for a duel, lots of space with few things to get in the way. Malfoy had much better technique, but Harry was quick enough to hold his own. It was difficult for them to tell if the other was tiring, in the rain, but they both discarded their robes shortly into the match. Harry's skill was double what it usually was, because of his eyes, which helped especially in the darkness. They had been going strong for almost twenty-five minutes, dodge, parry, lunge, retreat! when they reached the lakeside. It was higher than usual with the rain, and Harry was pressing. Draco was right at the edge, about to fall in.

In the darkness, Harry didn't see him grab his wand from his pocket, but he did see the sparks that came out as Draco created an invisible wall behind him, just high enough to prevent his falling in. While Draco was distracted with that, he quickly disarmed him, before tossing his own sword aside. He couldn't duel left-handed, with the sword or his wand, and there was no chance Draco would be able to find his sword to retrieve it in the downpour.

They both fired off a quick volley of curses and hexes, most of which went wild. Draco was hit with a Leg-Locker Curse that he efficiently removed, while Harry struggled to pick himself up from whatever that was that he had been hit with. This continued for a few minutes, all the while Harry was thinking rapidly.

'Conjure. Conjure. Right. Step one, visualize what you want to conjure. What do I want? If I could just get him on the head with a brick? Or maybe a beater's club. Anything! Anything, anything, anything!'

He almost didn't see when, in the middle of a string of hexes, a four foot squid ejected from the tip of his wand. Draco obviously wasn't expecting it, because it got him full in the face and knocked him over. He wrestled with it for a minute before getting the top side and pushing himself off. Harry, distracted by a sudden light coming from Hagrid's cabin, wasn't prepared for Draco's last spell. He was knocked over by the full-body bind, and could barely see Draco making his way back to the castle.

He waited. He wished he could turn over, so the rain wouldn't be falling in his face. It was stinging his eyes, which were beginning to fade painfully back to normal. At least he was on an upslope, so it couldn't drip down his nose, but his mouth was cracked open, and he could feel the water dripping down his throat. And he was cold, soaked to the skin, and completely exhausted.

The rain stopped after a few more hours. Harry was still awake, since his frozen eyes couldn't shut. His mind wandered, though, and he was caught in a half-dream, something about being attacked by dragons. In any case, he wasn't paying attention as the black-robed figure approached.

  
  
  
  


Disclaimer: Everything but the plot and the potion belongs to someone else, and I am getting no money off of this.

  
  


A/N: This one is definitely going to be continued. Tell me what you think of it, since I'm not positive on all my characterizations. If there is anything I need to clear up, just tell me and I'll try to get it in in a future chapter. Thanks a million for reading, thanks a lot more than that if you review.


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